Accused hit-and-run driver paid while missing work

Middleboro utility says it estimated the hours worked by Erk Megna, who is accused of the hit-and-run accident that claimed the life of Michael Dutra.

By Alice C. ElwellEnterprise correspondent

MIDDLEBORO - The Gas & Electric Department paid Eric Megna for a full day's work on the day he has been accused of a fatal hit-and-run accident, even though he didn't show up for work.
More than a year ago, the utility came under fire and faced a flurry of open meeting law complaints and allegations that commissioners and former General Manager John P. Granahan violated public trust.
Although Granahan tried to keep his contract secret, it was disclosed that he was making almost $200,000 a year and was the highest paid general manager of any town-owned utility in the state.
Residents called for tighter controls and since overpaying Megna, a new policy has been put in place.
Now interns such as Megna require supervision when they are working, said General Manager Jacqueline Crowley.
Town employees in Middleboro are on the honor system and do not punch in on a time clock.
Crowley said in Megna's case, his hours were estimated, a common practice at the utility because the work week does not coincide with the town's payroll system.
According to Megna's payroll records, he was paid for 32 hours the week of the crash that killed 58-year-old Michael Dutra, and 16 hours each for the next two weeks. He has not worked at the utility since the accident.
According to court records, Middleboro Gas & Electric Department employee Cynthia Bourque told Detective Robert W. Lake that when she left work on Oct. 11, Eric Megna and station operator Betty Silvia were the only people in the building. She said she had no idea what time Megna left.
Crowley said Megna did not work on Oct. 11, and the time was not deducted from his paycheck on the following two weeks that he worked.
Crowley said Bourque was confused and attributes it to a three-week time lag between Oct. 11 and Nov. 3, when police questioned her.
Crowley does not know why Megna was not docked for the overpayment.
During Megna's bail hearing in November, his attorney David P. Sorrenti, of Brockton claimed the timeline police used to place Megna at the scene is “impossible.”
According to court records, Megna, an engineering student at UMass-Dartmouth, attended a math class at 3 p.m. on Oct. 11 and was still on campus at 5:47 p.m.
Officials from UMass did not provide The Enterprise with Megna's class schedule, nor confirm if he had regular classes on Fridays.
Crowley said it was not uncommon for Megna to stop work in Middleboro, drive to Dartmouth to attend a class and then return to finish out the workday.
Police say it takes 36 minutes to drive the 24.3 miles from Megna's university campus to the scene of the fatal crash on Wood Street.
According to court records, Dutra was struck at 7:07 p.m. and died two minutes later. Phone records indicate Megna made a call to his mother 10 minutes after the crash from a location south of Boston.
Megna was indicted on Jan. 14 and faces vehicular homicide charges and leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
If convicted of both charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 121/2 years behind bars.